Vanguard vs Alpaca Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Vanguard and Alpaca are two leading discount brokerages offering commission-free stock and ETF trading. Use this head-to-head comparison table to evaluate fees, features, trading tools, and account options to help you decide which broker is right for you in 2026.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Vanguard vs Alpaca (2026)
Feature Vanguard Alpaca
Website https://investor.vanguard.com/ https://alpaca.markets/
Broker Type Full-Service API-first self-clearing broker-dealer (Trading API for retail/algo; web dashboard available)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online $0 commission (retail US stocks/ETFs); plus SEC/FINRA/CAT fees. Elite Smart Router: $0.0005–$0.004/share
Fractional Shares? Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading Yes (from $1 notional; 2,000+ US equities)
Percent Allocations? Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools Yes, via API
Crypto Trading? No Yes (most US states via API/dashboard; 24/7)
Crypto Fees Not applicable Maker/taker 0.15%/0.25% (under $100k 30d vol) to 0%/0.10% ($100M+); on received asset
Options Trading? Yes Yes (Levels 1-3 equity/ETF; index options live)
Options Fee $1/contract $0 commission retail equity/ETF options; index $0.50/contract + ORF/OCC/exchange pass-throughs
Bond Trading Available? Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs No (Broker API partners only; not Trading API/dashboard retail)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No Yes (receives PFOF rebates)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes web dashboard; no official mobile app (third-party/TradingView yes)
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No Yes (Alpaca Trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds Over 3,000 None
NTF Mutual Funds Over 1,800 None
Non-NTF Fund Fee $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds N/A
Early Redemption Fee? No N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) 60 days N/A
Early Redemption Fee $50 N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes; all accounts opened as margin (limited margin if equity under $2,000).
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial Yes; Traditional and Roth IRAs for US tax residents (Trading API). SEP-IRA in agreements.
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep Yes; opt-in FDIC Bank Sweep/High-Yield Cash for uninvested cash (variable APY, up to $1M FDIC).
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No
Robo-Advisor Service Vanguard Digital Advisor N/A
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix N/A
Basics: Headquarters Valley Forge, PA San Mateo, CA
Year Founded 1975 2015
Clearing Firm Vanguard Brokerage Services Self-clearing (Alpaca Clearing)
Local Branches? No; phone/online service No
New Account Minimum $0

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